Chapter 36
Chapter
Thirty-Six
Leda
With a roar, Bokkan jerked his arms. The chains holding him to the wall broke free, dropping to the floor.
He grabbed me, rolling over so his weight rested on me. One look at his face told me that his control was gone.
The salty yet slightly sweet taste of his blood was still on my lips. I hadn’t thought about biting him that hard. The urge just overwhelmed me when my second orgasm took hold of my body.
I’d never bitten a lover before. The need to do it had come over me, so intense that I hadn’t been able to control it.
Long fingers tangled in my hair, tugging my head back and to the side. Then, Bokkan struck, his mouth opening wide. His fangs sank into the top of my shoulder, piercing the skin. His cock was still deep inside me, and he ground his hips into mine.
The bite hurt, but there was pleasure, too. The pressure of his fangs in my skin was echoed in my clit, making it throb. Bokkan levered himself up, looking down at me with black eyes laced with a red web. His mating instincts were fully in control now.
A drop of my blood stained his lower lip red as he stared at my body. His tongue slipped out, and the forked tip removed the blood from his mouth. He pinned my hips down as he fucked me with rough, deep strokes.
I couldn’t move and could barely breathe because the pleasure swelled in my core, ready to overtake me again.
His left hand released my hip, moving to my chest between my breasts. The span of his hand was so large that the tips of his middle and index fingers were nearly even with my jugular notch.
The movement of his hips became more powerful as he fucked me. The red web over his black eyes began to glow like fire. The center of his palm on my chest heated. The warmth spread to his fingers, growing more intense with each thrust.
Just when I thought it would be too much, that I would have to beg him to stop, the orgasm crashed over me. Only it was nothing like I’d ever experienced before.
A wave of fire washed through me, incinerating me from the inside out. The burn coalesced in my chest, right beneath the palm of Bokkan’s hand.
“Mate.”
Bokkan’s voice was thick with a growl and power. He sounded as demonic as he appeared. The sound sent another tremor of ecstasy through me, making my eyes roll back in my head.
He might be a monster, but he was now my monster.
My monster groaned as he came inside me again, planting his cock deep inside of me and nearly collapsing as he shuddered with pleasure. The center of my left hand and the skin beneath his palm burned.
I lifted my hand and saw a beautiful black tattoo in the center of my palm.
It resembled the tattoos on Bokkan’s torso.
An intricate vine spiraled in my palm, glowing red before it faded to black.
When I turned my hand over, I saw the same image on the back of my hand as well.
As though the symbol had moved through the muscle, bone, and skin to reach my very blood stream.
“Uh, Bokkan?”
He lifted his head to meet my questioning gaze. His black eyes were back to normal, and he looked both excited and frightened.
“What’s this?” I asked, turning my palm toward him.
His eyes flared with pleasure when he saw the tattoo. “It is a mating mark,” he said.
Taking my hand, he brought my palm to his mouth, pressing his lips to the mark.
“Does this mean we’re bound?” I asked.
“Yes,” he answered, his voice softer than I’d ever heard it. “I am sorry.”
I wasn’t about to let him apologize for this.
“I’m not,” I said.
His shocked eyes came to mine. “You’re not?”
“No. Because I talked to Guldan this morning and decided that I’m staying here. With you.”
“But why? I thought all you wanted was to return to your home?”
I realized it was time to admit what I was feeling out loud. Not just to him, but to myself.
“Because I’m falling in love with you.”
God, it was scary to say that out loud. To let myself be vulnerable with someone who could easily hurt me. Not physically, but emotionally.
His hands cupped my head, cradling it gently. “You are?”
He sounded surprised. But not upset.
“Yes.” I bit my lip as I looked up at him. “Since you bit me and I’m wearing a mating mark now, I’m hoping you feel the same way.”
“I do.” His lips touched mine reverently. “I have since the moment I saw you.”
The nerves dancing in my stomach eased. He was in this as deep as I was. Maybe even deeper.
“So, what do we do now?” I asked.
“Now, I take you upstairs and make love to you in a bed rather than on the dirt.”
Hours later, after a bath, food, a nap, and more orgasms, I lay naked on top of an equally naked Bokkan, my hands folded over his chest and my chin resting on the backs of them. His head was propped on a pillow, and we were looking at each other.
“Are you sad that I can’t brand you?” I asked. “Is that even a thing female daemons can do?”
His fingers combed through my damp hair, smoothing the strands down my bare back. “Female daemons do brand their mates.”
His other hand moved to touch his chest, where I bit him. Surprisingly, the mark I left was still there. It had healed quickly, but the scar in the shape of my bite remained.
“You bit me as a daemoness would. It triggered the beginning of the bond for me. As Guldan said, you will continue to absorb magic the longer you live here. Perhaps you will be able to brand me in time as well.”
I wanted that. I wanted him to wear my marks for all to see. Because I wanted all the female daemons, like Venna, to understand that he was mine. Otherwise, I would spend too much time fighting for my mate rather than fucking him.
And the fucking was much more pleasurable.
Speaking of the bitch Venna…
“You realize Venna was the one who convinced Talus to kidnap me, right?” I asked Bokkan.
His eyes flared red. “Yes.” A growl edged his voice when he answered.
“What are we going to do about that?” I asked.
Though he looked pissed as hell, his hand never stopped stroking my hair down my back. “We aren’t doing anything. Guldan and I will handle it.”
I tensed, lifting my head from my hands. “Excuse me?”
I would have laughed at the oh shit expression on his face if annoyance hadn’t already reared its head.
“Well, I mean, obviously her actions cannot go unanswered. I do not want a feud with her, but she must die for what she tried to do.”
“How do you intend to do that without a feud?” I asked.
“Guldan and I will find our way onto her property late one night and make sure she is unable to try something like this again.”
“You mean, Guldan, you, and I will find our way onto her property.”
“I do not want you in another perilous situation,” he argued.
“Okay, so you’re gonna be able to kill her yourself? Or will Guldan?”
His gaze was intense as he stared at me. “I have killed before, little mate.”
“Oh, I know. You were a warrior. But this is different. This is retribution. And considering she was going to let Talus rape me repeatedly before he killed me and helped to arrange it, I think I should have a part in the plan.”
“Leda, are you sure you would want her blood on your hands?”
I thought about it for a long moment. I thought about the fear that coursed through me when I realized what Talus planned. The way she sneered at me.
When I killed the imps at the auction house, I’d been afraid for my life. This would be different.
Somehow, I knew that she wouldn’t give up. Venna would try again. She wouldn’t stop until I was dead. Despite the brands on my chest and palm and the bite I’d left on Bokkan, she would continue. It wasn’t even because she wanted Bokkan now. It was because she had to win.
“Leda?”
“I’m going,” I stated.
He didn’t argue with me anymore. He just put his hand on the back of my head and tucked my face into his neck.
“We will see,” he murmured.
Oh, yes, we would.